Moscow, Dec 25 (IANS) Russia affirmed its strong support to India’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed United Nations Security Council.

The joint statement issued on Thursday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia said the two countries emphasised the need to reform the Security Council and make it more representative of contemporary realities.

“Russia regards India as a deserving and strong candidate that can bring an independent and responsible approach within the UN Security Council and reaffirms its strong support to India’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed UNSC,” it said.

The two sides appreciated the progress made in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu and agreed to expedite the implementation of ongoing and upcoming projects at Kudankulam.

They welcomed the progress in identifying the second site in India for additional six nuclear reactor units to be set up in cooperation with Russia.

“They agreed to actively work towards localisation of manufacturing in India under the aegis of Make in India and in tandem with the serial construction of nuclear power plants,” the statement said.

The two sides welcomed the finalisation of programme for action for localisation between RosAtom of Russia and the Department of Atomic Energy of India.

The two sides welcomed the signing of an agreement between Rosneft and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) for acquiring 15 percent stakes by OVL in Rosneft’s Vankorneft oil fields and discussions for further stakes in future.

Stressing that the exploration and use of outer space should be for peaceful purposes, Russia and India reiterated that they were against weaponisation of outer space.

In this connection, they called for a speedy launch of negotiations to conclude a relevant legally binding international agreement at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

The statement said Russia and India were united by common interests in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their falling into the hands of terrorists, as well as in strengthening multilateral export control regimes.

“In this context, Russia welcomes India’s early accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime that would increase the effectiveness of this mechanism.”

Stressing that India should fully participate in the development of the norms of international export control regulation, the statement said Russia expressed its readiness to support India’s aspiration for full membership in the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and supported India’s interest in full membership in the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Both sides expressed a common understanding that the internal armed conflict in Syria cannot be solved by the use of force, but rather through political and diplomatic means — through a substantive intra-Syrian dialogue without preconditions.

Russia and India welcomed the progress achieved in the area of security, including the maintenance of the ceasefire regime in south-eastern Ukraine, as well as the signing of the agreement on the withdrawal of military equipment and artillery of the less than 100 mm calibre from the line of contact.